2018 Acura TLX: First Drive

Welcome to the twilight of the entry-level premium sports sedan. Thirty years ago, every yuppie worth his Patrick Nagel print owned a 3-Series BMW or "baby Benz." Ten years ago, the segment had expanded both its appeal and its membership to the point that everybody from your teenage neighbor to your grandfather was leasing a sports sedan and everybody from Jaguar to Lexus had a dog in the fight. Those days are long gone. Today, the hot money is chasing premium crossovers. In a way, sports sedans are kind of like fedoras. First they were cool. Then they were ubiquitous. Then one day they were unacceptable and the only people wearing them were extremely lonely middle-aged men who still live with their parents.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Acura thinks there's still a little life left in the sports-sedan market–but not nearly enough for them to go whole-hog with an expensive-to-engineer longitudinal-engine contender like the old Vigor or first-generation TL. Instead, 2018 brings us a refreshed version of the new-for-2015 TLX, which shares most of its hard points with the outstanding ninth-generation Honda Accord. It's an extremely conservative product with which to fight bespoke rear-wheel-drive entries like the evergreen 3-Series, C-Class Benz, and Lexus IS, but as we will see there are a few upsides to that approach that might make it worth a second look.

Every 2018 TLX, from the entry-level four-cylinder front-driver at $33,000 to the V6 Advance SH-AWD at $45,750, receives significant exterior and interior updates. Your author is partial to the front-wheel-drive version of the V6 Advance, which is quick, quiet, and features a truly brilliant stereo system. It can also be purchased in a very fetching shade of brown. I know from experience that the TLX is not a track rat, so why not get the model that makes the most of the big Acura's undisputed excellence as a mile-munching business-class cabin on wheels? It gets brilliant fuel mileage thanks to the slightly uncooperative ZF 9-speed automatic transmission and since it's a FWD Honda it will probably keep running until the heat death of the universe.

Acura

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Not every sports-sedan buyer is motivated by concerns as prosaic as ambient interior noise level and absolute minimum repair cost, however, so Acura has introduced the "A-Spec" TLX in order to do business with buyers who would otherwise head right to the sport-appearance-package variants of the default-choice German four-doors. There's no extra power, but you do get a firmer suspension, more responsive steering, and a less-restrictive exhaust with megaphone-style tips.

Driving the A-spec and standard versions of the TLX back-to-back quickly demonstrated that the differences between the two are almost entirely cosmetic. But that is par for the course in this segment; just think of "A-Spec" as similar to "F-Sport" or "S-Line." Some people just want a little more visual aggression, even if it comes with more road noise and a bigger bill at tire-replacement time. This isn't an M3 fighter; it's a way to stand out a bit in the company parking lot without doubling your auto-insurance bill.

Acura

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

It's also an outstanding value. At $42,800 for FWD and $44,800 for AWD variants, the A-Spec undercuts virtually all of the competition while offering a few extra goodies like ventilated front seats and wireless phone charging. It's also slightly cheaper than the base model of the Acura MDX sport-utility vehicle, which may help former street racers who want to persuade their spouses to pick the sedan instead of the wagon-on-stilts.

Our preview drive took place in rural Kentucky, across a mix of tight back roads and bland eight-lane freeways. As before, the TLX offers a stress-free cruising experience with friendly but not overtly sporting handling when pushed a bit. The interior, which has been more than adequate for the class, has received a few updated materials. A-Spec cars have bespoke trim and the de rigeur smatterings of Alcantara. The infotainment system has been heavily revised to incorporate CarPlay and Android Auto; it's visibly more responsive as well. The sticker-price difference between the TLX and its Accord cousin is easy to understand from the driver's seat. Everything you touch is richer, more durable-feeling, more pleasant to operate. The tactile pleasure of the steering wheel alone is a reason to consider the Acura-branded sedan over the Honda-branded one. The stereo, too, offers sound quality and distortion-free volume that cannot be had in the Accord.

Acura

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

In a perfect world, the TLX would be available with a six-speed manual and significantly larger brakes, preferably some sort of fixed-caliper setup for the fronts at least. Both of those features were available on its predecessor, the TL SH-AWD, but the customers weren't interested and didn't buy them in enough volume to make it worth Acura's time to offer them again. (If you're familiar with how Hondas and Acuras are sold, you know that the "customer" who makes the order choices is actually the dealer. So feel free to take this up with your local Acura dealer. It's his fault that you can't have the best possible TLX.)

The truth of the matter is that this big sedan could desperately use some of the irrational exuberance that characterized early Acura products like the second-generation Legend coupe and the beloved Integra GS-R. For far too long now, the company's lineup has been deeply, thoroughly conservative in all regards. We're told that there are changes coming and that the TLX in A-Spec form can be thought of as a statement of intent. That would be nice.

Acura

In the meantime, however, that innate conservatism offers an unexpected benefit. Pretty much every competitor in the entry-luxury space has moved to a forced-induction strategy with a wheezing turbo four at the low end and (usually) an over-boosted six for the well-heeled customers. The TLX, by contrast, has two very good engines and they are both naturally aspirated. The entry-level four-cylinder is surprisingly torquey. The optional V6 loves to rev and at full throttle it manages to sound like something you'd hear in a much more expensive car. It's no trick to beat 35mpg on the freeway with either one.

Acura expects the refreshed TLX to take a slightly bigger bite of the market. Given the aggressive pricing, the comprehensive spec, and the additional appeal provided by the new A-spec trim level, this seems more than reasonable. It's a good alternative to the default-choice Germans and it is also a commendable alternative to pretty much any premium crossover out there. Like the fedora, these reasonably-sized, space-efficient mid-sized sports sedans have a certain elegance to them. They represent a sort of tasteful restraint in an era where chrome-encrusted breadboxes on wheels have become the norm. Trust us: you will miss them when they are gone.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Road & Track participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.